What has Ramalinga Reddy been up to in the last five years?

Our work is to empower citizens, made possible by your donation. Click to Donate

The six-term MLA, Ramalinga Reddy was first elected from Jayanagar for four times. Then in 2008 when the cosntituency boundaries changed due to delimitation, he shifted to BTM layout which he currently represents for the second time. Reddy was the Home Minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet, a berth he was given after the resignation of G Parameshwar. Before that he handled the Ministry of Transport. He started his political career as a municipal corporator in 1983.

Advertisement

His first stint as a minister started in the Veerappa Moily Cabinet as Minister for Finance and Heavy and Medium Industries. He has held many portfolios and has served in cabinets of Dharam Singh and S M Krishna. His name had cropped up in the matter of the Jharkand Mukhti Morcha bribery case that had shaken down the Narasimha Rao Government at the centre, along with Moily and his then Cabinet colleague H M Revanna. The Delhi High Court in 2002 had upheld the trial court’s acquittal of the three.

His tenure as the Home Minister saw some high profile law and order incidents including the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh and the Anekal gang rape. Political corridors were rife with whispers that Reddy was grooming his daughter Soumya Reddy to take the political plunge as a Congress candidate from his erstwhile constituency of Jayanagar, and the rumours have come true.

Ramalinga Reddy in news

June 25, 2013: As part of the BBMP’s efforts to prevent traffic congestion, six stretches were identified for road-widening. The transport minister said that work would start immediately on existing government land, without acquiring any public properties, putting citizens who fear losing their homes at ease.

August 15, 2013: Fly-bus service between Mysore and BIAL was inaugurated, and plans to ensure more such buses connect to Coimbatore, Mangaluru and Tirupati are underway according to the transport minister.

November 6, 2013: Taking precautions to avoid situations like the Bangalore-Hyderabad volvo bus accident, the transport minister said that ten teams were deployed to ensure that illegal activities by tour operators stopped. Also, he said that passengers need to be educated about safety rules before boarding.

August 11, 2014: A two-acre eco park in Koramangala 6th block which was previously managed by an NGO is being handed over to the Koramangala Club for maintenance under the Namma Bengaluru-Namma Koduge programme, Reddy said. The residents however fear they might lose their park.

October 29, 2014: In a survey conducted by DAKSH, Reddy featured in the 25th spot, in third last place, reflecting poor performance in his constituency.

November 8, 2014: The then district-incharge minister said that Rs 250 crores was allotted to developing unique technology-based solutions in the 110 village areas, similar to the water ATMs installed in Mahadevapura constituency.

April 11, 2015: Marking the launch of a one of kind caste census, Reddy urged citizens to participate and accurately answer the 55 questions over a two period.

March 22, 2016: Ramalinga Reddy, the Transport Minister, assured the MLA from Sakleshpura that old buses will not be plied on roads and new buses will be released. This was in response to his queries on an accident that took place in the area.

September 3, 2017: On assuming office, he refused to accept the Zero Traffic privilege given to previous Home Ministers as his predecessor, G Parameshwara, had come under fire for delaying traffic.

September 13, 2017: During an inspection of Parappana Agrahara Central Prisons, he noted that 2G jammers were in place and 4G signals would be blocked soon. He also pointed out that Sasikala was staying like a common prisoner without any partiality.

October 3, 2017: Journalist Gauri Lankesh’s killer was close to being caught by the SIT, divulged Reddy, though he was cautious about giving out clues to the media.

November 11, 2017: MLA Ramalinga Reddy, also the Transport Minister at the time, said that the government should consider the odd-even rule on Bengaluru roads. He indirectly indicated that the Transfer of Development Rights ( TDR) controversy would be resolved soon and road widening project would commence henceforth

November 11, 2017: Speaking at an event organised by FKCCI, Reddy told mediapersons that rowdy elements, particularly repeat offenders, will now be booked under the Goonda Act and if necessary be banned all together.

December 23, 2017: The uproar over the rape of a minor Dalit child in Coastal Karnataka showed the minister it was necessary to change the law. Now, he supports capital punishment being awarded to rapists, on the lines of the legislation passed by the MP government.

January 9, 2018: Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy applauded the efforts of first time corporator, Shilpa Reddy, in utilizing Whatsapp to address people’s issues. He acknowledged that technology is the catalyst to progress.

January 28, 2018: Responding to the allegations of minority appeasement before elections, the Home Minister said that a circular was sent to officers only as a reminder to release falsely accused minorities, as their cases were brought to notice by minority leaders.

February 21, 2018: Addressing the question posed by Jagadish Shettar during zero hour, Ramalinga Reddy said that he has informed the police to book a case against senior party leader Narayanaswamy for pouring petrol on the premises of a BBMP official’s office.

Note: This is a curated article, and may not contain all the news related to Ramalinga Reddy.

We are very proud to announce that your local web newsmagazine Citizen Matters won the Manthan Award (South Asia and Asia Pacific) in the e-News and Journalism category. Also in this edition: Where does Bengaluru’s e-waste go? | Peripheral Ring Road to come up soon | We win yet another award